FARM MANAGEMENT IN SUMPTER COUNTY, GA. 9 



number of farms, and those operated by colored tenants of less im- 

 portance. While the farms operated by white owners represent about 

 one-half of the total number of farms, they represent more than two- 

 thirds of the crop land and they produce almost three-fourths of the 

 cotton. The farms operated by colored tenants represent about one- 

 third of all the farms, yet they represent only about one-sixth of the 

 crop land and produce scarcely one-sixth of the cotton. 



The owner-operators include three classes, namely, the "straight 

 owner," or one owning all his farming land and having entire super- 

 vision of it ; " owner renting additional," or one operating his own 

 land and also renting additional land which he operates along with 

 his own land as one farm unit ; and " owner with part rented out," 

 or one renting out part of his own land. Renting out a part of the 

 farming land was practiced frequently by owners of the larger farms 

 in order to shift a share of the responsibility and risk. The tenants 

 furnished the working capital, performed all the labor, and gave the 

 owners a fixed amount of lint cotton or very rarely a stipulated cash 

 rent, or a fixed share of the crops, for the use of the land. The farms 

 operated by tenants were comparatively small, but some of the farms 

 operated by owners comprised thousands of acres. 



In the operation of these larger farms two distinct methods of em- 

 ploying the necessary labor have been developed, namely, (1) the 

 wage-hand system, and (2) the share-cropper system.^ 



Table 2 shows the percentage of the total crop acreage grown by 

 wage labor and that by share-cropper labor. There was a tendency in 

 1918 to grow more of the crops by the latter system than by the 

 former, primarily on account of the difficulty in getting men to work 

 as wage hands. 



Operating the large farms entirely with wage labor is a serious 

 task that only the exceptional farmer will undertake. It is about as 

 profitable and less hazardous to employ both wage hands and share- 

 croppers and also rent out a part of the crop land. The scarcity of 

 efficient labor willing to work for wages is a limiting factor in this re- 

 gard. The negroes, in general, seem to prefer the share-of-crops sys- 

 tem, not only because it gives a measure of independence, but also be- 

 cause it gives an opportunity for the employment of the entire family. 



Under the wage-hand system the laborers live on the farms and are 

 usually furnished rations in addition to a stipulated cash wage for 

 about seven months of the year. During the harvesting season they 

 work as day laborers or contract laborers. Other members of the 

 laborer's family are usually employed during the earlier part of the 



5 In this bulletin share croppers have not been included as tenants but are included as 

 laborers. It should be noted that in this the practice of the U. S. Bureau of the Census 

 has not been followed. In the census figures the share croppers are counted as tenants. 



